Urban Decay X Kristen Leanne | Collection Review

*Products mentioned were sent for review, opinions are my own*

The Urban Decay X Kristen Leanne collection ended up being way more controversial than I anticipated. It seems there are a lot of thoughts surrounding the collection, and today we’re going to talk about what I think of the collection.

I have the majority of the UD X KL collection; I’m only missing the liquid lipsticks and single shadow. Ironically the gray liquid lipstick, Pulse, was what I was most looking forward to in this collection so I’ll probably pick it up at some point.

So let’s start with the most controversial piece of this collection, the Kaleidoscope Dream palette.

KALEIDOSCOPE DREAM PALETTE

This is an eyeshadow palette with ten shades. The packaging is a square, it’s made of cardboard and it has magnetic closure. This palette also comes with a brush, which I actually liked. So, let’s talk about why people either love or hate this palette. Symmetry is a thing most people appreciate and feel they need. This palette basically gives the middle finger to symmetry, and is laid out in a way that doesn’t make sense to some. When I originally saw this palette, I felt the same. It looked weird to me and I didn’t like how asymmetrical it was. However, I think I understand now and it should have been obvious. Considering this is called the Kaleidoscope palette, does it not make sense to emulate a Kaleidoscope? I think that’s exactly what this palette is doing. Another thing I’ve noticed is since there’s no distinct layout, there are no obvious color pairings. It gives you a kind of freedom to choose whatever colors you want and make your own looks without a palette’s layout holding your hand. This is another thing that causes that uneasiness; we’re so used to a palette laying everything out for us that this really throws us off. I’ll admit, at first I hated the layout. But, it’s kind of grown on me.

Let’s talk about the colors in the palette now, since that’s what is actually important and then we will discuss the formulas.

SPITFIRE – BRIGHT PINK SATIN WITH PURPLE SHIFT

STAY GOLD – METALLIC YELLOW GOLD

TAJIN – ORANGE MATTE

LCW – METALLIC TEAL BLUE

TRM – METALLIC DEEP NAVY BLUE

LEO + BRIXTON – GREEN PEARL SHIFT + RED-GREEN PEARL SHIFT

LIME TIME – METALLIC NEON GREEN

13TH FLOOR – BLACK MATTE

DYE – VIOLET SATIN

CORONA – METALLIC SOFT BRONZE WITH GOLD SHIMMER

First of all, this palette is super colorful and if that’s something you’re into, you’ll love it. There are only two matte shades in the palette, Tajin and 13th Floor. They’re both super pigmented, creamy, and super easy to blend. I was weary of the black because they can be tricky, but it’s crazy pigmented.

Seven of the other shades are metallic/satin, excluding Leo + Brixton. The metallic shades are extremely soft and feel like butter. They’re so soft, they almost have a wet feeling to them. When you apply them to your eyes, they have a very foiled, metallic look. Spitfire and Dye are considered satins rather than metallic. Dye is still pretty metallic and it has the same formula. Spitfire is more of a shifty satin, for sure and it’s slightly drier in texture. It’s still very easy to work with and pretty pigmented. Leo + Brixton are a shadow duo that are shades that can transform your eyeshadow or can be applied alone to give a cool duochrome effect. This duo is much drier than the other shades but as pigmented as it’s meant to be. By that I mean, it’s not 100% opaque, but it leaves the translucent shift behind. I was honestly surprised by the quality of this palette, and I don’t know why. The past few palettes from Urban Decay have been so good and their shadow quality has definitely improved over the years. This palette is no different. The quality is awesome and if you love metallics and color, this is a must.

DAYDREAM EYESHADOW PALETTE

This eyeshadow palette is a great companion to the Kaleidoscope Palette, but it’s also great on its own. This is a rectangular palette full of neutral mattes and also comes with a brush. Here are the colors:

(first three swatches are the Beauty Beam Palette)

LUCY – IVORY MATTE

DAYDREAM – SOFT NUDE MATTE

12/12 – SOFT PEACH MATTE

SUBSCRIBE – WARM NUDE MATTE

EIGHT – RICH WARM BROWN

The formula for these shadows is good as well. They’re all mattes, but creamy and pigmented. These aren’t as pigmented as the Kaleidoscope palette, rather they’re more buildable than bold color. All of the colors are neutral and warm and can be used to do a variety of looks. This palette is best suited for someone who likes simple, neutral looks or someone who needs more warm mattes. I’ve used this with the Kaleidoscope Palette as well as on it’s own and I’ve really enjoyed it.

BEAUTY BEAM HIGHLIGHT PALETTE

The Beauty Beam Highlight Palette has three highlight shades. I’m a little weary of Urban Decay highlight powders because they’re typically more glittery than I like, but I was pleasantly surprised.

First, let’s discuss the three shades:

SOFT ROSE GOLD PEARL

WHITE GOLD PEARL

WARM GOLDEN PEARL

You may have noticed a theme here. They all have a golden tone to them. Only one shade in the palette works for me at the moment because I’m so pale. However, you can use these shades individually or mix them together in different combinations which makes it much more diverse. I could see this palette working for a pretty wide range of skin tones. I can wear the White Gold Pearl shade but the other two work perfectly as eyeshadows. The formula is soft and pretty pigmented, but not too pigmented. It’s buildable and looks like nothing on the skin. There isn’t any glitter that I’ve noticed. This is one of the highlight powders that gives a more “wet skin” effect.

VICE LIPSTICKS

We’ve reached the end in terms of what I have from the collection. All that’s left are three Vice Lipsticks. These are the same formula as their other Vice Lipsticks, which are honestly one of my favorite formulas available. They’re matte and creamy, but super pigmented.

Here are the shades:

BUN BUN – NUDE

CLOUD9 – MAGENTA

SPELLBOUND – DEEP PLUM

Bun Bun is my favorite, but I’ve really been into nudes lately so I’m totally biased. It’s simply described as Nude, but it’s more of that cool toned “greige” color. This is definitely a more trendy color at the moment, but I do like it. The formula is good, creamy and pigmented. This is opaque in one coat and didn’t get patchy or streaky. Cloud9 is described as magenta, and I think that’s pretty accurate. It might be a touch more purple than a typical magenta shade, but it’s close. This is also creamy and pigmented, without streaks or patchiness. This is slightly drier than Bun Bun but it’s still creamy enough. Spellbound is the one I’m most drawn to. This is a super deep plum shade. This is pretty pigmented but takes a little more effort to apply. This one will get patchy and you have to work with it a little bit, but it’s nothing major. I use a lip brush with a shade like this anyway because it’s so dark so it really doesn’t take any extra effort. As I said, they’re all matte. Bun Bun and Cloud9 are the Comfort Matte formula and Spellbound is a Mega Matte. I think that’s what is attributing to Spellbound being a little drier and slightly patchy.

These definitely stick to your lips. They will smudge and they have a little transfer, but they last so long. I forgot to mention the packaging, but it’s basically the same but pink. I prefer the regular Vice Liquid Lipstick packaging, but the pink fits with her collection.

So, that’s it for the Urban Decay X Kristen Leanne collection. As I said, there is also a liquid lipstick duo, liquid lipstick in Pulse and single shadow in SGH but I don’t have these to review. If I end up picking up Pulse, I will post a review.

I was pleasantly surprised with this collection. I went into it thinking I wouldn’t be a fan but I do like it. The shadows are great, the lipsticks are nice, and the highlight is gorgeous. The packaging for each item is different, but they still go together. I really like that. The collection just makes sense. Whether you’re just a fan of Urban Decay or you’re a Kristen Leanne fan, this collection is worth checking out. You should probably check out Kristen Leanne if you haven’t. She has the cutest pets and she shares my obsession for Hot Cheetos.

Yep I have no idea who Kristen Leanne is but I like that Urban Decay partnered with someone. It's great to bring in a new audience. The weird look of the palette would make me depot it though. I like my symmetry.